You Can't Unring A Bell
by miekhead
Summary: Claudia's babysitting skills are questioned when Myka and HG are away and problems are slowly revealed about the agent's marriage with Leena. Set 8 years after The Innkeeper's Caretaker. Baby fluff/heavy Myka/HG. Two-shot. Second in The Innkeeper's Caretaker series.
1. Chapter 1

Just a little ficlet that crossed my mind while I was trying to sleep in the midst of all this angst in The Innkeeper's Caretaker.

oxoxoxo

For the ten years since Claudia Donovan had been at the Warehouse, this had to be one of the most humiliating chores in the world. The baby on her shoulder whimpered and squirmed, and she'd pretty much had enough. But she wouldn't ring Leena… Nope. She was too stubborn, and too awesome to give in to using her wife's natural maternal instincts. "Oh come on… count with me. One… two, three… sleep!" She stood, pacing around the room, swaying her hips slightly to lull the baby into slumber. "Come on, sweetie… sleep. Go to sleep."

With her two mommies tracking down an artifact in Texas, little Lillian Bering-Wells was deciding to be uncooperative and just as stubborn as Claudia was. The Warehouse agent froze when Lil's tiny head rested against her shoulder. "See?" Claudia hushed mainly to herself, "I can do this. I can definitely do this. Babysitting? A doddle." She swayed gently, holding the four-month-old in her arms with a grin. Five minutes later and the B&B was filled with sounds of screaming once more. Claudia grit her teeth. "Okay, we're gonna play a game. We're gonna sit you in your boppy," she rearranged the long pillow and put it on the floor, propping Lillian on top. "Don't you smile at me," she pointed, pursing her lips when a wide gummy grin was flashed her way. "Don't you dare…" Lil squealed and kicked her feet.

"Listen," she sat on the floor in front of the baby and played with a foot, "If you don't go to sleep, your mommies are gonna be so freakin' pissed at me, okay? You need a nap, or you'll be grouchy when they come home. 'Kay? Aunt Leena's picking them up from the airport, which means you have to sleep. Right. Now." She pointed a finger but the infant just squealed again. Claudia groaned out in frustration and flopped on the floor, holding her head. "Pleaaaaase go to sleep," she whined. After a moment of clarity, Claudia sat up and lifted the little girl into her arms until the baby was rested against her chest. She began to hum with a gentle knowing smile as Lillian settled down again. Then, she began to sing. Sure, it was an unconventional lullaby, but she'd had it stuck in her head for days.

"_Well the moon is broken_

_And the sky is cracked, _

_Come on up to the house, _

_The only thing that you can see_

_Is all that you lack, _

_Come on up to the house." _

She heard quiet murmuring against her shoulder and continued to smile as she sang. So… her goddaughter was a Tom Waits fan - she could die a happy woman. As she processed it, she'd stopped singing much to the baby's chagrin. Lillian began to whimper.

"_All your cryin' don't do no good,_

_Come on up to the house. _

_Come down off the cross, _

_We can use the wood… _

_Come on up to the house." _

Listening out after a few more lines, she heard nothing. Stillness bar the tiny sound of snuffling breathing. She'd done it. Lil was fast asleep thanks to the gentle singing and after all that time, it had been surprisingly easy. If she had the space, she would have done the snoopy dance, but the risk of waking the infant up was just too great. "I am so awesome. I deserve a medal," she hushed to the child and sat down with Lillian still slack against her chest.

"So if you used the coin, you got horny?" Leena chuckled in disbelief as she turned the key in the lock, catching Myka's colored blush.

"Not just me! As in… all the other victims." Myka blurted, still highly embarrassed that a coin from Fannie Porter's brothel in San Antonio had caused her to act rather amorous with Helena in the middle of a questioning.

"That's what I meant, I meant you as in 'one' but uhh…thanks for the visual," Leena smirked teasingly.

Helena had to hold her mouth shut to stop herself from laughing as she pulled their suitcase into the lobby. The three women froze when they saw Claudia, slouched on the settee with Lillian resting against her chest, both of them fast asleep. "I know I'm hormonal," Myka began, "but that is so cute I think I'm gonna cry."  
>Leena grinned widely and grabbed the Polaroid from the mantel piece before taking a quick snap, smiling down at the wedding ring on Claudia's finger glistening back at her.<p>

Claudia frowned in her sleep at the voices, then stretched and cuddled Lil closer, pecking her protectively on the top of the head. The women continued to watch until Helena noticed Leena had gone very quiet.

"Are you alright?"

"Hmm? Sure.. I'm fine," Leena nodded, obviously distracted and she busied herself over to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Helena and Myka shared a glance, and while they wanted to cuddle their little girl close after being away from her for three days, waking Claudia up probably wasn't the best idea. Instead, they followed Leena into the kitchen and crossed their arms.

"Spill," Myka said softly, "what's up?"

Leena shrugged and waved a hand in their direction. "It's fine. I'm fine."

Myka cleared her throat, "You want children, don't you?"

Leena's eyes widened and she spun round. Sometimes she was convinced the brunette had some sort of reading ability because she'd been well and truly had. "Not… that's not…"

"And Claudia doesn't." Helena finished for her wife. "That's the problem, isn't it?"

Leena groaned and covered her face with a hand. "I hate you guys…"

"Come on," Myka pulled her hand and sat her down. "Talk to us, we can help…"

Leena huffed. "That's just it… For Claudia, children are annoying, and 'blegh'" she stuck her tongue out and pulled a face, imitating her wife. "How can you help with that? It's just a subject we disagree on, that's it."

Myka frowned and shook her head sadly, "You shouldn't have to settle for that though. What did she say?"

"Umm… it's, it's all we ever talk about." Leena muttered.

"About children? Have you specifically told her 'I want a baby.'" Helena said. She caught Leena's guilty gaze and nodded. "Ah…"

"Seriously? How do I even start that conversation? Claudia, you're not getting any younger, I'm not getting any older we're both the same age now… Let's have a baby." She noted Myka's wince. "Exactly…"

"You want a baby?" All three heads whirled around to see Claudia stood in the doorway, rubbing her eyes irritably after putting Lillian in her crib. "Wh… Leena…" She threw up her hands. "Great. Gossip with these two, but don't bother to tell me your deepest most personal secret. It's fine."

"Claud…" Leena stood up but Claudia put her hand up.

"Nope, I'm cool… just gonna leave the house while you reenact The View." she snarked, "It's fine," she huffed and left the kitchen swiftly.


	2. Chapter 2

As promised on tumblr, here's the second and final instalment of the fic. If you haven't read The Innkeeper's Caretaker, you're probably going to be very confused. Hope you enjoy! Please review if you do, my ego gets very bruised with Cleena fics because the ship is so tiny.

I don't own any of the characters in Warehouse 13, I'm just borrowing them for a little while.

oxoxo

An awkward silence settled on the kitchen as Leena covered her face angrily. "Back in a second."

"Leena…" Myka began but the other woman just shook her head. "Want me to peel these potatoes?"

"Sure," she smiled sadly and left the room, an excitable Helena following her to see her child. The innkeeper rolled her eyes when she heard the front door slam and slipped on her jacket before leaving the house just as hastily.

"Claud!" Leena tried to keep up but the grass was water logged and she was pretty much slipping and sliding everywhere. "Claudia, come on…"

The caretaker turned swiftly and rolled her eyes. "You never even said _anything_! Am I so unapproachable that you can't even say anything like that to my face?"

"Sweetie, it wasn't-"

Claudia gripped at her hair in frustration. "Sure, I don't want kids, but I would have at least wanted to talk to you about it." She watched as Leena hung her head low, shoulders shivering slightly as she began to cry. "And then you go and complain to Myka and H.G about it? Putting words in my mouth? Really…" Claudia paused, looking at her wife in dismay. "Leena…" She sighed and slumped her shoulders. Her ranting was obviously getting her nowhere and was just making her partner more upset. "Leena… Come on." More sniffling, "Hey, don't cry…" She walked forward took one of the innkeeper's hands. "Hey…"

"I'm sorry," Leena mumbled sadly, tears scattering down her cheeks. "I just… I didn't want you feel bad about something that you obviously didn't want."

Claudia groaned at the pettiness. "Oh god, woman," she began to laugh, pulling her wife into a hug. "Don't go all nutty hormonal on me."

"I'm sorry," Leena sniffed.

"Shhh," Claudia rolled her eyes over her wife's shoulder and realized now was not the time for lengthy discussions about the subject. She tried to remember what date it was, then grinned further and rubbed Leena's back. That was the one thing that Leena considered a curse. A woman of her age would have gone through menopause a decade a go, yet here she was, stuck at the perfect age for childbearing, menstruating like clockwork, and hormonal as hell each month.

"Listen," Claudia began somewhat hesitantly, brushing tears from Leena's eyes with a finger. "We're gonna talk about this, tonight okay? I just… I need to think."

"Claudia…" Leena whimpered.

"Tonight," Claudia reached up, hands in her wife's hair stroking softly through the curls. "I promise." Leena hated it, but she nodded and tried not to sulk. Claudia saw the pout and sighed, leaning forward to kiss it away. "I'm gonna head over to the Warehouse… just… clear my head a little."

"I'm sorry." Leena said again.

Claudia chuckled. "Stop apologizing, I'll see you later."

"You're not having dinner?" Leena began to disengage from her wife's embrace and shuffled on her feet.

"I'll get something on the way there. See you later." she gave her one more soft kiss and forced herself to walk in a straight line. Truth be told, she was freaked out, but Leena was obviously just as shaken up about the whole affair, and she needed to be the strong one. Unlocking their Prius, she slipped inside and closed the door, before driving off in an attempt to clear her mind.

Leena took a few settling breaths, then exhaled and furiously wiped at her face to clear the tears before moving back up the hill to reenter the inn. "Potatoes are on!" Myka called out as soon as she heard movement, snuggled up with Helena on the couch, both women staring at their sleeping child as if she were a television. "You okay?" They looked up to Leena standing in the doorway looking pretty lost.

Leena just shrugged. "Fine… I'm just gonna…" she muttered and excused herself into the kitchen.

Helena turned in Myka's arms and she bared her teeth in a grimace, attempting to get up. "Leave her," Myka shook her head, holding her tight. "Need to give them some space."

"Very well," the older woman shrugged settled back down in her wife's arms.

Dinner was a very quiet affair. Pete had called in to say he was staying at the Warehouse with Steve claiming that the naughty scarab beetle had suddenly sprung to life and Trailer was getting too slow. Lil, of course kept the women entertained, sucking on a plastic spoon as if she was dining with them. Each excitable squeal caused Leena to sigh and she averted her eyes furiously when Myka finally got up to feed her. Helena watched the darker woman fuss around with the dessert she'd made and held in a sigh of her own. With the table cleared, and the television on, the women were greeted to a happy looking Pete at around 9.30. "We got him! We got the little bastard," he hopped up jubilantly and made a claw. "Just crawled up like a dead toenail."

"Shhh!" Helena hissed but chuckled despite herself. "I've just managed to get her down, I'd appreciate it if you lowered your voice."

"Sorry," he lowered his eyes and sat down, helping himself to some tortilla chips on the table.

"Is Claudia still down there?" Leena asked, trying to act as casual as possible.

"Hnnmm?" Pete chomped loudly on his chips and nodded with a swallow. "Should be back any minute."

Leena got up angrily. She'd been left hanging, waiting with no text, no phone call, just silence. "Night guys," she shook her head, defeated and left the room.

"They okay?" Pete pointed blindly to the empty doorway.

Myka shrugged, her head comfortably rested on Helena's chest as she flicked through the channels. "I dunno… Probably?" She winced. "Maybe."

An hour later, Claudia skulked into the large master bedroom of the B&B and shrugged off her shoes using her feet. "You awake?" She looked at the lump in the middle of the bed and sat on the edge, running a hand up and down her wife's body. "Leen? You awake?"

Leena grunted out the affirmative and sat up slowly. "Nice of you to keep me waiting," she grumbled and rubbed her eyes.

"Sorry…" Claudia sighed watched as Leena turned so that her back rested against the headboard and her knees tented the quilt. "Turns out thinking is easier said than done." She rubbed at Leena's knee and let out a long breath. Leena just stayed silent, watching her wife cautiously. Claudia got up and paced around the bed, distractedly removing her clothes. "I'm turning thirty in a week," she mumbled with a shake of the head.

Leena frowned, a little taken aback. "Yes… you are," she replied, confused.

"Never thought we'd get here. Me, older than you." Claudia said almost angrily.

This caused Leena's frown to deepen. "And you're pissed at that? Is that what this is?"

"Wh…no!" Claudia groaned and hastily pulled off her t-shirt and bra before pulling out a tank-top. "Time's just gone so fast."

"For you, maybe." Leena bit back, watching her wife with an unsure glance.

"Sorry," Claudia exhaled and looked down at her wedding ring. Slowly, she approached the bed once more and climbed onto the bed to sit on in the middle of the mattress. "God this conversation is really hard." She gave an indulgent, infectious smile and Leena had no choice but to follow it.

"You're telling me," Leena smirked. "We haven't even started it yet and I'm struggling."

"Okay," Claudia nodded to herself and crawled under the duvet. "Sit up, scooch forward a little…" Leena's brows furrowed but she did as she was asked, then let out a slow smile when Claudia slipped in behind her and pulled her close, arms wrapped protectively around her middle. The redhead took a breath, and started talking. "Today was kinda fun, okay? Me and little Lil got on like a house on fire. But she's annoying," Claudia added firmly.

Leena tried not to chuckle. "I can't believe that's how you refer to your only goddaughter." She grinned further at the teeth playfully sinking into her shoulder.

"She is annoying." Claudia reiterated with a whine. "You know how long it took me to get the runt to sleep? I had to sing freakin' Tom Waits. She loves Tom Waits!" She squawked in disbelief.

Leena closed her eyes, smiling when a warm hand settled further down her belly, as if Claudia knew she was cramping. Maybe she did… the redhead was secretly very attentive. There was silence for a while. At first it was comfortable, then as it stretched, the tension in the air became palpable. "Claudia, I really do want children, I can't pretend I don't." Claudia stayed quiet. "So…so now you know. But I didn't say anything because I didn't want you to feel pressured," she said softly. Claudia wriggled free from behind her wife and lay back next to her, staring at the ceiling.

"So… where do we go with this?"

The silence pressed on both of their chests and they stayed motionless. "Then…" Leena swallowed. "We don't have kids. We have a Lil, we don't need anything else."

Claudia heard her wife's voice get higher and higher as she tried to stop herself from crying. "Come here," she widened her arms and felt Leena bury herself against her chest. "Shhh… It's okay," she soothed and rubbed the woman's back. "Hey… you gonna let me tell you what I've been thinking about all day?"  
>Leena shook her head but Claudia chuckled and carried on.<p>

"I don't want kids because…" she gulped, "Because I worry about you so much, honey. I really, really worry. I think about how dangerous our lives are, and I worry if something happens to us, to me, how you'll be looked after. I think about how lonely Rebecca was for the most of her life. And I know that if we have kids, I will freak the fuck out," she smiled at Leena's giggle. "And in a few years, we're gonna have a little Steve running around, and in the next room there's a tiny Myka/H.G hybrid snoring her little ass off." She gently plucked away the tears from her wife's cheek. "Is that enough?" She pulled Leena's face up by the chin and noted the sadness in her hazel eyes. "Not for you, huh? It's not…" Leena couldn't even shake her head, she was frozen with an irrational fear. "And I've been so confused, did you know that?" Claudia rolled her eyes at herself. "I was so, so jealous when Myka was pregnant because Helena looked so crazy in love and I was asking myself, 'Why doesn't my wife look at me like that?' And 'why don't I look at her like that?'" She sniffed and cleared her throat. "And it pissed me off that I thought we needed kids to do that, but we don't."

She leaned forward and kissed the darker woman with a sigh as she felt the tremble in Leena's lips. She knew the tremble wasn't positive and pulled away, ruffling a hand through her. "Oh god, this is so screwed up." She watched as Leena curled up and covered her face, sobbing into her hands. She got out of bed and began to pace around the room again. Leena's sniffles were getting louder by the second. Claudia bit her thumb anxiously and looked at the pain she'd caused her wife. The thoughts she'd been having all day came back to haunt her and she felt her cheeks flare. "Fuck it… this is useless, I can't do it anymore."

"Wh-what?" Leena pulled away from her hands and felt her heart die in her chest. She couldn't breathe.

Claudia felt like she'd chewed all her nails off and stuffed her hands into her pockets. "I wanna see little versions of you running around the house." She blurted, shocking herself. "I just might need to go into therapy for freaking the fuck out."

"What? Wait…" Leena gulped. "What?"

Claudia sighed and sat back down. "I didn't kill her."

"I'm sorry?" Leena sniffed, completely confused.

"Lillian… I looked after her for nearly two days and I didn't kill her. She's a happy, gross little baby who poops and loves her mommies and her life."

"Claud, if you're fucking with me…"

The redhead had the decency to snort. "Wish I was…" She turned to her wife and forced down the nauseous feeling that was suddenly overwhelming her. "Look me in the eye, and tell me that I can do this." She pointed a finger, "Not you, but me. Tell me that I can be a good parent for your child. Tell me."

Leena looked at her seriously, eye to eye and nodded. "I don't want to have a baby with anybody else. You should know that. You will be the best, geekiest, coolest mom ever."

Claudia closed her eyes and forced herself to breathe. "You're doing the diaper changes. Have you seen how much babies poop? It is inhumane."

Fresh tears gathered at Leena's eyes and she had to take a moment to compose herself. "Will you… do you want a baby with me?"

Claudia shook her head. "I want a child with you, but yeah, I think you'll look pretty hot with a big fat belly."

"Claudia…" Leena admonished with a shake of the head. She couldn't stop the tears from rolling down her cheeks and was pulled back into a long hug.

"You're crying again, aren't you?" Claudia soothed, trying not to laugh.

"Bite me," Leena whined back.

"I plan to." the redhead smiled gently, running her fingers up and down the woman's back. "You know what the best thing is?"

"What?" Leena asked, dotting careful kisses around her wife's chest.

"Caretaker's got wicked cool access to baby-making artifacts."

Leena sat up with haste and squinted her eyes. "No…"

"We know it works," Claudia grinned and leaned forward kissing her partner soundly on the lips. "The proof is in the other room."

"Claudia…" Leena tried to wriggle away. "If the Regents find out, we're screwed."

"They let Helena off… and I'm more trustworthy than she is. Hell, they let Mrs. F off all the time for using artifacts to get what she wants."

Leena huffed, "Claudia…"

"Nope, not listening," the now older woman pounced on top of the innkeeper and pinned her down. "I'm not going to let some guy out there be the other half of my kid," she found herself surprised when a wave of emotion caused her throat to close up, "Not when I know I can make a baby just as well with you. No, Leena."

Leena couldn't help but smile, the grin widening considerably after each second. "Oh really? Not even a man with perfect genes?"

"No," Claudia shook her head firmly. "Not gonna happen. The only dude getting you pregnant is sitting right on top of you, and I'm not taking no for an answer."

Leena rolled her eyes but couldn't stop the spark of arousal from shooting through her groin at the mere thought of them creating a child together. She ran her hands up and down Claudia's torso and slowly pulled off her wife's tank top revealing breasts still as pert as the first day she'd seen them. She grinned and tweaked a nipple teasingly. "What if I say no?"

"Then you're in trouble," Claudia chuckled and lay down in her wife's arms, biting and pulling on the woman's lower lip. "And I'll tickle you until you say yes."

Leena growled and flopped back against her pillow. "Okay…"

"That easy, huh?" Claudia chortled and treated her to a kiss.

Leena nodded, biting her lower lip. "You don't play fair."

"I do," Claudia placed her thigh strategically between the innkeeper's legs.

"Nuh-uh," Leena shook her head petulantly, "You're a mean tickler." She licked her lips when Claudia pinned her hands back against the mattress and finally let out the hysterical giggle that she'd been holding in when the smaller woman growled and bit gently on her breast. "Okay, okay, I give. You're not mean."

"Oh, I am," Claudia flashed her a feral grin and lightly bit her way up until she was able to deliver a long, sultry kiss to Leena's lips. "I can be very, very mean indeed." Leena groaned and tilted her hips upward, reaching up to pull Claudia down for another kiss.

"Are we practicing?" Leena murmured gently.

"Making a baby? Sure… if you wanna call it that," Claudia chuckled and gave a soft thrust. She was stopped when Leena gave her a crushing hug and held her so close, the redhead was left immobile. "You okay?" Leena felt excitement bubble within her and nodded, unable to talk. "Please don't cry again…"

"I'll try," the woman choked happily. "I'm just very happy." Leena sniffed and Claudia slowly got off of her wife before lying down next to her, using her fingers and palms to rub and soothe her. She'd caused this happiness, and, if the artifact worked, Leena would be exposed to even more happiness. And truth be told, so would she. "Love you," the innkeeper murmured softly when she came up for air, having spent the last five minutes snug against the redhead's chest.

"Love you too," Claudia pecked her on the lips, then did so a second time. "Now… can we practice?"

Leena chortled and nodded, flirting a lip between her teeth. She shrieked when Claudia pulled off her pajama top with haste. "Shh! You'll wake the baby up." Claudia shook her head, her eyes sparkling at the double meaning and how in a year or two they could be saying the same thing for their own child. Leena thought her heart was going to explode but eventually lay back and let the smaller woman have her way with her, way into the night and the early hours of the morning.

"Ow…" Leena groaned when she eventually sat up and looked at the sunshine filtering through the blinds. "Ow."

"You told me not to stop." Claudia grinned widely, then stood up for herself and doubled over. "Okay, oww."

"Better get used to it," Leena smiled dreamily. "But I agree, a break seems to be in order." She moved to get out of bed but her wife stopped her, one hand protectively splayed across a bare knee poking out of the bed sheet.

"You stay put, I'm making breakfast."

"Really?" Leena's eyes widened.

"Sure," Claudia husked, "you just chillax, I'm making pancakes."

"Lord help us," Leena smirked.

"I didn't hear that," Claudia singsonged and pulled on a robe before leaving the room with what Leena swore looked like a skip. The innkeeper sighed and lay back in bed, tentatively reaching down to see how tender she really was. She hissed. They had gone a little crazy, but the pain was well and truly worth it.

Looking down at herself, she wondered what her body would look like in the various stages of pregnancy, what it would feel like to feel a baby's kick. She squealed lightly to herself and curled up, pulling the duvet over her head and kicked around the bed, unable to keep her excitement in as the situation sank in. They were going to try for a baby. She was going to have Claudia's child. She smiled, happy tears running down the sides of her nose. Endless wonder indeed.


End file.
